Dialogue 2 Consumption
Getting Started: Good Reference Sources
Print Sources
| REF HF5803 .A38 2003 |
Encyclopedia of Advertising |
| REF HF1001 .E466 2007 |
Encyclopedia of Business and Finance |
| REF HQ16 .E52 2007 |
Encyclopedia of Sex and Gender |
| REF TD173 .E53 1999 |
Encyclopedia of Environmental Pollution and Studies |
| REF HM585 .A13 2007 |
21st Century Sociology: A Reference Handbook (check vol. 2 for consumption article) |
CQ Researcher has some good basic articles to get you started. Try a search for your particular industry (i.e. auto) or a broader topic. (For example, search sustainability for an article about Corporate responsibility. There is an excellent World Trade article as well.)
Credo has articles about sustainable development. Find Credo on the Databases and Online Resources page.
Still looking for a paper topic? Check out the Story of Stuff glossary and resources as a way to begin narrowing your topic.
Searching the Library Catalog
Books (reference or general) and films can be found using the online catalog. To start your search:
- Go to the library website and click on catalog/books.
- Click on the Advanced Search tab.
- Type, trying to use at least two search boxes to express separate ideas about your paper. (For example, try "consumption" and "economics.")
- Click on the Search button.
Confused? Ask a reference librarian or try our catalog help sheet.
Possible search words to use:
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Consumption
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Sustainability (while this isn't a subject word, a keyword search pulls up many different books on this topic)
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Consumption and economics (this subject heading deals with books about economic and consumption issues)
- Try searching for your particular industry here: food, automobiles, fashion, advertising
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Consumption and social aspects
Finding Database Articles
Because you can potentially take your research in several directions, there are many potential databases that you can use. The following are just places to begin your research.
- Academic Search Premier: a good range of scholarly and popular articles. Some full-text available. Search words: a particular industry and effects. Try economic or spending to learn this industry's impact in the world.
- Business Source Complete: several scholarly articles and trade publications that give information about various industries. Search for current information about various industries here.
- Lexis Nexis: full-text of newspaper articles across the world. Search words: a particular industry. Try effects, too, if there are many options.
- Environment Complete: will help you determine the ecological effects of your industry. Search words: a particular industry, sustainable.
- Communication and Mass Media Complete: investigate the effects of advertising in particular. Search words: advertising or marketing.
- JSTOR: full-text of a variety of scholarly articles (articles start around 2003 and go back). Search words: sustainability and a specific industry.
- SAGE Premier: full-text of a variety of scholarly journals in social sciences and humanities, including current years.
Helpful Webpages
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WorldWatch.org links to environmental reports, with a focus on sustainability. (Full text of the various reports are available in print in the library, at HC59.15 .S34 in the general section of the library.)
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EPA website on sustainability offers, like other government websites, lots of full-text PDF reports, along with stats on different types of consumption on a national or international level. (For paper 3, note the "how do I help" section of the website.)